Chapter 239 Playboy: From Nightgown to Dress (Part II)

Facing Hefner's unprecedentedly serious expression and the pleading gesture in his eyes, Lin Mingyang rubbed his temples vigorously.

"I admit that your initial idea is indeed in line with the positioning of a popular book, but in fact, Playboy has deviated from this goal in the development stage, even if I put the ** girl in the magazine in a thin veil, it may lead to the loss of existing readers, and most of the readers who buy Playboy should be here for this... You're giving me a big problem. ”

Judging from the early Playboy magazine, on the cover of the cartoon pictorial, the image of Mr. Rabbit is very cute and the picture is very relaxed. From the mid-60s, the beautiful women on the cover began to sing the main role, and they wore less and less clothes on their bodies. From the perspective of design and appreciation, the cover of the magazine is still very watchable, otherwise it would not have become popular with a generation of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe.

Playboy's boldest attempt was to venture into the erotic film and television market in the '70s, when the magazine's survival was difficult, and the entertainment division, which consisted of six erotic television stations including Playboy, earned nearly $115 million a year, and the profit before interest and taxes was $34 million, which was dwarfed by Playboy's profit of $2.6 million.

Hefner began to expand his erotic empire in a big way, and his own affair became the focus of public attention, and it also caused a lot of controversy. Despite the persistence of moral criticism of Playboy and Hefner, these voices are insignificant in the face of lucrative interests.

But in recent years, Playboy's directors have suddenly discovered that erotic images in magazines are no longer as attractive as they once were, and that the decline in magazine sales has been matched by increasingly competitive markets and a gradual change in people's views on entertainment. In the past, Playboy was the only one in the erotic magazine market, but now there are endless adult magazines in the American market. Because there are too many such magazines to be published, Americans feel bored.

Although the circumstances are different, the status of Playboy in people's minds has not changed over the years, and the term "Playboy" is basically synonymous with "erotic magazine". If it were young, this should be the capital of the Playboy group to show off, but now, this deep-rooted understanding has become the biggest obstacle to the magazine's transformation.

Hefner also knew the existence of this problem, and he stared at Lin Mingyang: "You will definitely have a way to solve this problem... The key question is whether you are willing to accept this cooperation? ”

"I can be 100% in action at MGM, can you do the same with Playboy Group?" Lin Mingyang's eyes were fixed on Hefner's face when he spoke, and as long as his expression moved slightly, he couldn't escape his eyes.

Hefner chuckled: "I admit that my stake in the Playboy group has not reached the point of absolute control, but I single-handedly founded Playboy magazine and own the trademark 'Playboy'... So you don't have to worry, it's a completely reciprocal conversation in terms of our position in our respective companies. ”

Although in the eyes of some, "playboy" is synonymous with vulgarity, no one can deny that it is a banner of American pop culture. Changing the connotation of this brand is tantamount to influencing the development of American culture in disguise, which is a huge temptation for Lin Mingyang.

"We can talk about it first"

Hefner suddenly felt very funny when he heard the word "we", Lin Mingyang still looked "immature" in the eyes of his old fox who had been in the shopping mall for a long time, he only had the momentum of a superior, but he did not have the consciousness of a superior, obviously he was still a novice in this regard.

As the "replacement" he had high hopes for, Hefner felt that he needed to teach Lin Mingyang a lesson.

"I know you'd love to talk to me about the details of this collaboration, but the only thing I want to do right now is toast with you... Don't you think it's out of place to put all the bargaining things at the negotiating table on such an occasion? ”

Hefner raised his wine glass with a smile, Lin Mingyang couldn't shirk it, so he could only have a toast with him.

Putting down the wine glass, Hefner continued to enlighten Lin Mingyang and said: "As a leader, what you need to do is to decide the future development direction of the company, just like we just did, since the intention of cooperation has been determined, the negotiation should naturally be handed over to the people under your hands to complete, what you and I need is just a result, so why bother with the tedious process?" ”

Hefner's indulgent and indulgent wine Lin Mingyang probably couldn't learn it, but his views on the management of the company made Lin Mingyang think about it carefully. Hefner gushed about his past in the mall and love scene, while Lin Mingyang quietly acted as a listener. Unconsciously, a bottle of expensive red wine has been seen, and Hefner's old face is actually a little red, but Lin Mingyang has not yet shown a drunken state.

"Now that the two of us have reached a consensus on the issue of cooperation, can we go and meet the reporters outside?" Hefner's light words as if he were drunk made Lin Mingyang's brows tighten suddenly.

"It's just the two of us showing our faces in front of the media together..."Hefner's drunken eyes flashed, and he still looked half drunk at this time, "You know that the stock price of Playboy Group has been falling recently, and I hope to stop the decline in the stock price through the signal of this cooperation... Otherwise, maybe we haven't reached a consensus at the negotiating table, and the Playboy group has already declared bankruptcy."

Lin Mingyang found that he had unknowingly fallen into Hefner's carefully designed trap, and as long as he appeared in front of the media with Hefner, the "hot potato" of the "Playboy" group would be transferred to him. Lin Mingyang can even foresee that once the news of his intention to acquire "Playboy" comes out, it will be a great positive for the stock price of "Playboy" Group.

Although it seems that he has been "calculated" by Hefner, Lin Mingyang is convinced, not to mention anything else, Hefner's hand in front of him is really beautiful. First of all, it seemed that the seemingly unintentional words showed that the "Playboy" group can make up for the lack of Lin Mingyang's current industry, which can be described as a temptation to benefit; then began to put aside interests, and had an in-depth discussion with Lin Mingyang on emotional issues, although he did not convince Lin Mingyang with his own views, but at least he narrowed the distance between the two, which can be said to be emotional; Pointing out Lin Mingyang's management realm in business is reasonable; In the end, when the cooperation was confirmed, the press conference was thrown, and it was forced to take the momentum.

Under Hefner's careful arrangement, Lin Mingyang's takeover of the "Playboy" group is a foregone conclusion, of course, Lin Mingyang can completely refuse such a result, but this cooperation is actually beneficial to both parties, Lin Mingyang can only smile and appear with Hefner to be interviewed by reporters.

The reporters, who had been hired by Hefner for a long time, were not informed in advance of the details of the interview, only that Hefner was negotiating the transfer of the Playboy group with an important person, and that the staff responsible for receiving the mysterious figure who was expected to "inherit" Hefner's erotic empire did not know anything.

They waited patiently in the pre-arranged room, and more than two hours passed in a blink of an eye, and whether Hefner and the mysterious man could negotiate became the biggest doubt in the minds of all reporters. And this acquirer, who is cloaked in a veil of mystery, has also become the subject of whispers by journalists.

Finally, the door was pushed open, and the group of reporters, led by the staff, did not care about the splendor of the Hefner tour along the way, and all they thought about was the mysterious acquirer of "Playboy".

The answer was revealed, and the moment was full of drama, Hefner was still wearing the famous silk nightgown when he was interviewed, and sitting next to him was Lin Mingyang, who was dressed in a formal suit and had a strange expression. Reporters who knew Hefner well had long been surprised by his outfit, but the other protagonist of the interview surprised them unusually much.

Lin Mingyang plans to acquire the "Playboy" group, and this news will definitely be regarded as a joke, but after thinking about it carefully, it seems that this matter is quite reliable. Others would think so, and the reporters in the room were no exception, and after a brief moment of stunnedness, the expressions on their faces were quickly replaced by frenzied excitement, and they knew exactly what kind of blockbuster news would lead to the rest of the interview.

Hefner seemed to be in a good mood, and at the beginning of the scene, he humorously joked with reporters: "Neither of us should need to introduce ourselves to you, right?" Of course, I'm sitting here today, not to chat with you, we're going to announce an important decision, MGM Pictures has confirmed that it will cooperate with Playboy Group, unfortunately the celebration wine has been drunk by the two of us, and now we can't invite everyone to have a drink... But in the evening I'm going to have a big one, and everyone is welcome to attend."

The reporters had already been mentally prepared in advance, so when Hefner announced the news, there was no such "fryer" situation, and the fastest response was the reporter of the Chicago Sun, who put aside Hefner and wanted to ask Lin Mingyang a question.

Sir, was MGM's decision to work with Playboy? There was a tone of disbelief in his question.

was put on the side by Hefner just now, although Lin Mingyang was convinced, it didn't mean that he wasn't ready to fight back, and this reporter's question just provided Lin Mingyang with such an opportunity.

"It was really my decision, but there are two things I need to explain to you." Lin Mingyang stretched out two slender fingers as he spoke, "First of all, the nature of this cooperation, what I am going to do is to acquire the Playboy Group through MGM, and this decision is currently only my personal intention, and the decision of the MGM board of directors has not yet been approved." ”

In the eyes of the reporters opposite, Lin Mingyang's first point is the first half of the sentence, and he pointed out the primary and secondary relationship of this cooperation. Although saying this may make Hefner feel a little embarrassed as he sat on the sidelines, there seems to be no objection to seeing Hefner's appearance, and the reporters present are all smart people, and it is easy to figure out the joints. As for Lin Mingyang's second half of the sentence, it is purely his personal excuse, if something happens to this acquisition, he can find a step for himself, but who doesn't know that Lin Mingyang, who has an absolute controlling stake in MGM, his personal wishes basically represent the attitude of the entire MGM.

Lin Mingyang put away a finger, "If this merger is successful, I will reorganize the entire Playboy Group, the only thing that will remain unchanged is Playboy magazine, and Mr. Hefner, if his physical condition allows, I will continue to hire him as the editor-in-chief of the magazine and the company's chief creative officer."

Lin Mingyang said this, which is very in line with his usual arrogant style. In the face of Lin Mingyang's strong counterattack, Hefner only had a wry smile in his heart. Ten or twenty years ago, even if someone with the same status and strength as Lin Mingyang said such things in front of him, he would only be greeted with disdainful ridicule from Hefner. But now, he has a company that is as old as himself, and he can rely on drugs to let his aging body continue to enjoy a romantic life, but there is no way to make an aging company regain its former glory.

Hefner always said that he likes to stay with young people, because he feels that he can also be young, but there are always exceptions, sitting with Lin Mingyang, a standard young man at the moment, Hefner feels pressure in his heart, although he will still have a relaxed smile on his face.

He used his power to force Lin Mingyang to accept cooperation, and Lin Mingyang used the "momentum" he created to force him to accept the conditions of cooperation.

What's more, Hefner himself knows very well in his heart that what Lin Mingyang said is basically the truth. Even if he were to save face to Hefner now, MGM's representatives would not hesitate to make such a request at the double-shot negotiating table. In the shopping mall game, what is placed on the surface is the back and forth of words and swords at the negotiation table, but what can really control the situation on the table is the competition of strength.

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